PharmaPoint: Seasonal Influenza Vaccines Japan Drug Forecast and Market
Analysis. Seasonal Influenza is a respiratory infection caused by
influenza virus that results in mild to severe symptoms, such as fever,
cold and cough. The market is heavily driven by the sales of
prophylactic vaccine treatments to prevent infection. Currently,
trivalent intramuscular vaccines such as Sanofi's Fluzone and Vaxigrip,
GlaxoSmithKline's Fluarix and FluLaval and Novartis' Fluvirin garner the
majority stake of the market. However, with the entrance of vaccines
with novel routes of administration, such as AstraZeneca's intranasal
FluMist and Sanofi's Fluzone IntraDermal, GlobalData projects a dramatic
shift favoring the adoption of such vaccines over the traditional
intramuscular vaccines. GlobalData also anticipates that manufacturers
that launch quadrivalent formulations will steal market share, patient
share, and revenue from the trivalent influenza vaccines currently
available.

The Japanese influenza vaccine market is valued at approximately $702
million in 2012. The projected drivers for growth of the Japanese
influenza vaccine market include the entrance of large, multinational
firms into the marketplace, a government commitment to educating the
populace about the importance of preventative medicine (including
vaccination), and growth of the elderly population. GlobalData does not
project that intradermal and intranasal vaccines will enter the Japan
market during the forecast period, leaving all market dynamics between
existing and new intramuscular vaccines.

The Japanese influenza vaccine market differs from its US or European
counter parts due the large role that non-commercial entities play in
the marketplace. For example, the Chemo-Sero-Therapeutic Research
Institute is the market leader. The organization is also referred to as
Kaketsuken (abbreviation of its name in Japanese). Kaketsuken's recent
completion of a new influenza vaccine plant, which doubled its
production capacity, is an embodiment of the resources and commitment to
the influenza vaccines that have enabled it to attain its position in
the Japanese market.